First Female Saudi Astronaut Reaches ISS Aboard SpaceX Rocket

Saudi Arabian astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi, the first woman of her country to reach the International Space Station (ISS), arrived aboard a SpaceX rocket. The mission, called Ax-2, included three other astronauts: Saudi fighter pilot Saudi Ali al-Karni, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and businessman John Shoffner. The crew will spend 8 days on the ISS after a successful docking of the Dragon capsule. Barnawi expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, encouraging people worldwide to dream big and believe in themselves and humanity.